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14,000 more Hawaii families could qualify for SNAP benefits under new rules

Posted on by darion

The Department of Human Services says it is not sure when it will be able to make changes to the eligibility criteria because it requires making changes to the state’s 40-year-old computer system.

Hawaii will expand eligibility for the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to allow about 14,000 additional lower-income families to begin receiving federal assistance, Gov. Josh Green said Monday.

Supporters of the change to the SNAP program, commonly known as food stamps, say it is expected to bring an additional $40 million to $45 million in federal benefits to the state annually once it is implemented by the state Department of Human Services.

“This will be a tremendous relief for our working-class families who face the highest cost of living in the nation in Hawaii,” Green said in a written statement announcing the change.

In a packed ceremonial office on the fifth floor of the Hawaii state capitol building, Gov. Josh Green, M.D., flanked by state House and senators and members of the medical community, signed two bills Monday that would lower the state income tax and implement a GET tax on Medicare, Medicaid and Tricare beginning in 2026, the largest tax cuts in Hawaii’s history. (David Croxford/Civil Beat/2024)In a packed ceremonial office on the fifth floor of the Hawaii state capitol building, Gov. Josh Green, M.D., flanked by state House and senators and members of the medical community, signed two bills Monday that would lower the state income tax and implement a GET tax on Medicare, Medicaid and Tricare beginning in 2026, the largest tax cuts in Hawaii’s history. (David Croxford/Civil Beat/2024)
Gov. Josh Green says a change in eligibility for the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance program “will provide tremendous relief to our working-class families.” (David Croxford/Civil Beat/2024)

Green praised a report released Monday by the University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization that prompted the change. The study found that thousands of lower-income Hawaii residents are losing millions of dollars in SNAP benefits, which are authorized by the federal government.

A family of four can receive up to $1,759 a month in SNAP benefits. There are currently about 130,000 Hawaii households enrolled, and state residents typically receive more than $60 million a month in SNAP benefits, according to UHERO.

Authors Dylan Moore and Nate Hix explain in the article that Hawaii currently imposes a gross income limit of no more than 200% of the federal poverty level to qualify for SNAP benefits. That would be about $5,750 a month for a family of four, but Hawaii also imposes a more stringent “net income limit” to qualify for the program.

According to the article, the federal government granted states the flexibility in 2000 to adjust income limits through a mechanism known as “broad categorical eligibility,” and the net income limit is no longer imposed by the federal government.

Green said Hawaii will adjust its SNAP program to eliminate that requirement. The newspaper reported 28 other states have done so.

Hix, manager of social impact policy at the Hawaii Public Health Institute, said in an interview that the change will be “a huge success across the board.”

“This is a huge opportunity,” Hix said. “Federal SNAP benefits are a federally funded program, so the more residents we can have eligible, the better. This is basically bringing free money into our state for low-income residents who need it.”

The Department of Human Services is working to align eligibility requirements with SNAP, but doing so will require changes to an aging DHS computer system known as HAWI, or Hawaii Automated Welfare Information System, Director Ryan Yamane said in a statement.

“The timeline for implementation depends on the ability to make the necessary modifications to the existing HAWI system,” Yamane said in a statement. HAWI is now about 40 years old, and the department is in the process of replacing HAWI with a new system.

The change “is consistent with the department’s overall mission to encourage self-sufficiency and support the well-being of individuals, families and communities in Hawaii,” Yamane said in a statement.